Indian Railways rotates clock back; restarts steam engine-powered train

Chandigarh, Nov 27: It's nothing less than a ride on the time machine. The Indian Railways has recently flagged off a train from Garhi Harsaru to Farukhnagar in Haryana district and it is pulled by a steam locomotive! The pricing of the ticket has been kept at a nominal Rs 10 and the entire effort is to bring back the vintage flavour which is associated with steam engine trains - for which often sophisticated adjectives like nostalgic and romantic are used.

The IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation) tweeted on November 19 about the grand plan saying: "Witness a journey like never before on the Steam Express from Garhi Harsaru to Farukhnagar at a minimal price of Rs. 10 only! Bookings are open for this unique journey."

The initiative is expected to attract tourists and train lovers from across the world. The train is being served by a WP7200 locomotive named AZAD (built in 1947, the year of independence, and hence this time). The locomotive has been used for passenger train operations for a long time till the year 1995 when it was retired.

IRCTC's official website read: "It is a great day in the history of Indian Railways that Heritage is being preserved and its display and ride is now open to the public at a normal fare of Rs. 10/- only."